My advisory (all seniors) meets for 50mins every Tuesday for a period that is totally up to me to plan. I love the freedom. Last year (with freshmen) we all used the StoryCorpsU curriculum which I mentioned in an earlier post. I found it somewhat successful. So, I wanted to try a grown-up version of it with my seniors using TED Talks! I loooooooooove TED Talks. They download onto my phone for me to watch on my subway rides. I post them on Facebook at times. I love them. Some can be very motivational or inspirational, and I hoped I could find some that would work for my lovely (but of course a bit jaded) seniors.

For the first week, I used “The Skill of Self Confidence” by Dr. Ivan Joseph. It’s on youtube here.

I stopped it around minute 8:20 partly because I didn’t want to bore any students with a lengthy video and partly because I loved the idea of writing a self-confidence letter. I stopped the video there and had the students write their own “brag sheet.” We didn’t share out. It was private for them. Afterwards, we had an open discussion about the ideas in the video, and students later filled out a feedback form.

The feedback: they loved it! They want more! I’m so excited.

One note: On a suggestion from Sam Shah, I’m going to include popcorn as a part of the TED Talk watching experience. I think it’ll heighten the experience.